


Wandering

by gladdecease



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Community: comment_fic, Gen, Pre-Canon, Toph Being Awesome
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-03-31
Updated: 2010-03-31
Packaged: 2017-10-17 02:24:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 545
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/171931
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gladdecease/pseuds/gladdecease
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Toph learns to earthbend.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Wandering

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted [here](http://community.livejournal.com/comment_fic/129916.html?thread=28166012#t28166012), in response to [myfloralbonnet](http://myfloralbonnet.livejournal.com/profile)'s prompt: Avatar: The Last Airbender, Toph, learning earthbending

Toph wanders all the time, though Mother with her soft hands and face makes sad noises when Toph goes too far. Her footsteps, normally so light and delicate, go loud and hard when Toph is not near, and the rough-handed servants feet go quiet and slow. When Mother finds Toph, her voice goes loud, and then thick and wet, and her hands grab Toph and pull her tightly to her chest. Toph used to try to wriggle out of her hold, but she knows now it's better to just let Mother hold her until she's done.

She's learned that there is a time, when everyone's feet go slow and tired, when she can go even farther and Mother won't notice. She waits until that time, and wanders farther and farther each night. The ground stops being soft and squishy, and starts being grainy and hard. Toph likes this ground best. There is something about it that calls to her, makes her hands and feet want to _move_. She doesn't know what way that is, though, so she just crawls over it, touching it as much as she can while she wanders.

One day, she comes across a place where the ground is a little wetter, and a little colder. Liking how it feels against her sore hands (she got spiky things in her hand earlier that rough fingers had to pluck out of her one at a time), she moves further into it. It gets colder, and she realizes that the ground is all around. She can _feel_ it there, in the same way she knows the ground wants her to move.

Something moves, in front of her, and Toph pauses, listening. It doesn't sound like Mother footsteps, or servant footsteps. It doesn't sound like footsteps at all. It's more of a shuffle, and it's getting louder.

Then something cold and wet touches her face. She makes a surprised sound, and flinches back. Something shuffles again, and the cold wet feeling returns. It feels nice. She makes a happy sound, and the something snuffs, its breath warm against her face. That also feels nice, and she makes a happy sound again.

The something moves again, and it is not soft like Mother or rough like servants, or spiky like painful things. It is furry, and she likes it. She touches it again, amazed by how soft it is, but stiff like hair. She tugs on it, and the something moves away, grunting. She moves closer to it, wanting to feel the fur again, but it _moves_ , and the ground in front of her moves up. Toph feels the ground, wondering at how the something made it move. The ground wants her to make it move, too, but she doesn't know how.

She remembers what the furry thing had done, and tries to do that. She pushes her hand forward, against the ground, and _pushes_.

The ground moves.

She makes a happy noise and repeats the action. The ground moves again. She repeats it again and again, moving the ground, until she _feels_ Mother's footsteps, loud and hard, a long way away. She crawls outside, and realizes she can _feel_ everything.

Mother finds her sitting there, making happy sounds and moving the ground under her feet.


End file.
